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I've found a way, personally, to overcome thoughts of relapse, you simply have to be social

Discussion in 'Rebooting - Porn Addiction Recovery' started by N0tLivingLikeLarry, Oct 21, 2021.

  1. N0tLivingLikeLarry

    N0tLivingLikeLarry Fapstronaut

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    Porn/PMO addiction tends to come from loneliness, I've been attempting NoFap for the past year with limited success, and in that time I've always been an isolated person, someone who spends as much time as he can alone. Now this has changed over the past couple of months, I've met new people, have been going out a lot more, and keep in contact with my friends everyday. As such, my most recent attempt starting 11 days ago has been an absolute breeze.

    I just seem to snap out of it whenever my social life re-appears, and it's because you never have urges when you're with friends talking. In a previous post, I compared relapse thoughts taking over me to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, which I think is quite accurate since when you stop and think about it, you're pretty much a completely different person when urges take over your brain, and since you never get them in social settings, maintaining a strong social life is the key to limiting moments in which urges can overtake you.

    Even if you just pop on social media, it's enough to snap you back into reality. Essentially, the point I'm making is that our minds don't exist in reality when PMO urges emerge, by maximising the time we spend in the real world, and being able to shift our minds back into reality, we can effectively snap ourselves out of urges to relapse.

    Has anyone else found this too? Is there anyone who's tried this and it hasn't worked for them?
     
  2. hewm

    hewm Fapstronaut

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    When I meet people for the 1st time, I try to be at least 3 days clean to make a good first impression.
    Also whenever I have a social event coming up, I think about how I would lose my mojo if I relapsed the night before. I don't want to give off that vibe when meeting people.

    For me, being social reminds me of how much nofap is essential. It's like a positive feedback loop. The benefits of the nofap streak become apparent when socializing: no brain fog, charisma, presence. This in turn motivates the fapstronaut to continue his streak, and keep socializing.
     
  3. modernstore99

    modernstore99 Fapstronaut

    Absolutely did the same thing. Minimizing time alone/in places you PMO and maximizing time with friends, studying/learning, and exercising makes rebooting so much easier. Doing those things releases serotonin and oxytocin, which actively inhibit dopamine, the neurotransmitter responsible for your cravings. Do these as much as possible to have easier reboots and maximize recovery!
     
    punch54 and SirErnest like this.
  4. punch54

    punch54 Fapstronaut NoFap Defender

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    Porn temporarily fills a lot of voids in a person like the need for love, pleasure, stress handling, etc

    The problem is that porn only temporarily provides those things while making you depressed, anxious, etc at the same time.

    But when you begin to fill the void properly by actually socializing, making friends, getting married, etc then not only are filling the voids but you can also end up reducing your urges since you no longer rely on porn for those things.

    I've found the same case with me as well. This might sound stupid but, when I deleted my Reddit account, I kept relapsing a lot until I made another Reddit account and began socializing a bit there again. That's because I had no one to talk to in real life except my family (partially due to the lockdown with almost everything being closed).

    So yeah, by filling the void for love, friendship, etc in real life then you can find yourself having less urges because now you no longer rely on porn to (deceptively and temporarily) provide you those things.
     
    modernstore99 likes this.
  5. Dr.J_76ers

    Dr.J_76ers Fapstronaut

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    I've actually found Reddit to be a danger to my recovery. In many cases, I've encountered NSFW content on accident, even when I've unchecked the "I'm over 18 and willing to see NSFW content" preference in settings. I literally have to use a blocker on Reddit now. But I get what you're saying, it does help if you don't have options to socialize in real life.
     

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